Does She Hate Me?
by 0Zerotolerence
Summary: Hey, this is my first Fan Fiction, and I'd really love to hear some opinions from readers and even experienced writers, if you want to leave one, of course. I'm a huge Pearl x Amethyst fan, so if I do continue my writing, it'll mostly be them. I may try to mix it up a little though. I made this first segment up on the spot, so tell me what you think. Thanks in advance.
1. Wonder

Does She Hate Me?

There's nothing Amethyst hates more than feeling as if no one cares about her. Of course, she knows that Steven will always think of her as a loved one, but that was Steven. It was different when it came to Garnet, who was always so stoic. It was hard to tell when she was mad, or disappointed, or even happy. Amethyst was always left wondering what Garnet thought of her, despite the countless times the taller gem told the smaller one that she was a very important member of the team.

But Amethyst could handle this. She could handle being ignored, because she was so used to it while living in the Kindergarten. What she couldn't handle were verbal insults. Actually being acknowledged, but in a bad way, was the worst pain imaginable for the purple gem. And who berated Amethyst more than the perfect, pristine Pearl?

Ever since the two have met, Pearl and Amethyst were on uneven terms. Pearl knew why; It was because Amethyst was a slob, plain and simple. She wanted the shorter gem to be more careful with her things, more tidy, to be more mindful of other people's surroundings. Amethyst, on the other hand, had no idea why Pearl was so mean. She wasn't stupid. Of course she knew why Pearl nagged at her, but there were.. certain times where Amethyst saw nothing but hate behind the pristine gem's eyes.

Maybe Amethyst was being paranoid. Maybe she was just seeing things. Maybe she only saw hate in Pearl's eyes because she compares them to the eyes that held so much love and adoration for the living that are now held by the little boy currently sleeping in his bed upstairs. The purple gem pondered this, silently chewing on a significantly smaller bite of pizza then she usually takes, resting her back against the arm of the couch as she stares blankly at the ceiling.

There was a bright light coming from the door to the temple. A light blue crease appears, the two halves created from it slowly opening. Without looking, Amethyst knew that it was Pearl, coming to watch Steven sleep. She always did that.. why? Did she hate Steven too? Did she want Rose back? No.. no, Pearl would never think that. well, maybe she would, but she wouldn't act on that thought.

Amethyst sat up, a sly smile on her face as she shoved the rest of the pizza in her mouth. She raised an arm in greeting to Pearl, who was already half way up the stairs, not noticing Amethyst's presence.

Her mouth still full, she spoke.

"Hey, P. Watcha doin'?" Pearl stopped in her tracks, turning around quickly. It was easy to tell that Amethyst frightened her. The taller gem had both hands clasped over her mouth, a light blue blush on her face as she tried to keep herself from letting out that 'eep' that ever so wanted to escape. "Woah, chill." Amethyst chuckled, swallowing the rest of her food. Wiping the crumbs from her mouth, she leaned forward on the couch, planting her hands between her legs to prop herself.

"O-oh, Amethyst.. you startled me." Pearl's hands slowly left her mouth, folding her arms instead as she walked down the stairs to stand a few feet in front of Amethyst. "What are you still doing awake? I thought you of all people would be taking this chance to sleep."

"Well I would, but I thought I'd keep you from stalking Steven." The shorter gem replied, her face cracked in a wide smile. Pearl's blush deepened, and she threw her fists down in exasperation.

"I am **_not_** stalking him!" She whisper shouted, much to Amethyst's amusement. Pearl sighed, once again crossing her arms as she averted her eyes from the smaller gem. "I was just making sure he was sleeping soundly, is all.."

"Uh-huh, sure." Amethyst hopped from the couch, hands behind her head. She began walking toward the temple door. "I'll leave you to your.. non-stalking."

Pearl couldn't help but get frustrated. After all, she had been caught stalking Steven. Wait, not stalking.. As Amethyst opened her door, the taller gem started back up the stairs, muttering under her breath.

"Little devil.."


	2. Questions

"Good morning, Amethyst."

Pearl didn't even look up as the temple door opened. She knew that it was Amethyst because Garnet had taken Steven on a duo mission. The stars in his eyes at the very thought brought a smile to Pearl's face, even if she were reluctant of the plan at first. The pristine gem was sitting on the couch, her legs crossed with a book propped up against them. She had asked Connie if she could borrow one of her textbooks she used for school, and she just happened to pick out the one with the awful inaccurate version of human history. Pearl was using white out and a pen to erase and replace those vile lies with the truth. She's sure that Connie would thank her later.

"Or should I say 'good afternoon?'"

"Wait, wha-?" Amethyst had chosen to ignore Pearl until she heard that her precious morning had already passed. She rushed outside of the house, and sure enough, the sun was high in the sky. The short gem sulked back into the house, climbing on top of the kitchen counter as per usual. She rubbed at one of her eyes, not caring nor noticing that her hair was a disheveled mess. "Well, thanks for not waking me up, I guess.."

"It's no concern of mine whether you sleep in or not. I could use the peace and quiet for a change."

"Whatever.." Amethyst responded nonchalantly, blowing some hair from her face after she had finished rubbing her eye, crossing her arms.

Pearl finally looked up from her book to look at the purple gem. No retort? No witty comeback? Just acceptance? Pearl would see this as a dream come true if it weren't so unusual for the smaller gem to just.. give up like that. Not to mention the condition her teammate seemed to be in. "Amethyst, are you alright?"

"Whatsit matter?" Amethyst didn't want to tell Pearl that she slept so late because she was thinking throughout most of the night. Pearl can't hate her, right? Not one of her best friends, her teammate.. but it's become more and more obvious with each passing day. Narrowed glances, name calling, not the usual names, but new, more hurtful ones. 'Little devil..' What was that supposed to mean? Sure the purple gem was a bit rambunctious, but she didn't think she deserved to be so pushed around by Pearl, especially not after the fight and make up session they had at Kindergarten.

"You're an important member to this team, that's why it matters." Pearl set Connie's textbook and pen aside, standing up to walk toward her teammate. "If something's wrong, you need to tell me."

" ** _Nothing_** is wrong, P." Amethyst practically spat out, shooting a dirty look at Pearl before looking away, who was taken aback by such a gesture. She couldn't say anything.. not to the one who Amethyst is afraid hates her. What if it turned out to be true? The purple gem couldn't take the risk.

"Well.. alright. I won't bother you about it anymore." Pearl's gaze was downtrodden. Why was Amethyst so.. distant as of late? Surely the smaller gem couldn't hate her, right? She may have been a bit hard on Amethyst lately, but it's for her own good! Right..?

"You won't have to.. I'm going back to bed." Amethyst hopped off the counter, but didn't head toward the temple door as per usual. Instead, she jumped and plopped herself down on the couch after walking passed Pearl, facing the back of the couch. Though, she took care not to ruin the taller gem's book and pen. That would just be typical of a 'little devil', wouldn't it?

"You're not sleeping in your room?" Pearl asked, still quite worried about Amethyst, who only gave a grunt in reply. Usually, whenever the smaller gem was upset with Pearl, she would storm off to her room for privacy. Was Amethyst so upset that she just didn't care? No.. in actuality, she didn't want to leave her teammate's presence. It was an odd feeling. After thinking about possibly being hated all night, it felt.. refreshing to just be around Pearl; even if they didn't speak.

Pearl didn't say anything else after that. She collected her things from the opposite side of the couch and set them on the kitchen counter, making a mental note to return the textbook to Connie later. Oh, she's just going to be thrilled when she finds out that Pearl fixed everything!

The pristine gem spent the rest of the day doing her daily chores. Stripping and washing Steven's sheets, making sure that there was food in the fridge and cabinets for when Garnet and Steven returned from the mission, sweeping the hardwood floor of the house, just tidying up in general. The whole time this was going on, Amethyst pretended to sleep, listening to Pearl do her work. It was.. calming. Pearl didn't order her to move off of the couch once since she started cleaning, nor did she make any noise that could possibly stir Amethyst from her (false) slumber. Was Pearl being considerate? Or was she just being quiet so the smaller gem wouldn't wake up and complain?

It didn't matter.. Amethyst was content with laying there, listening to Pearl do her small errands, no matter the reason for her being quiet. Why did she like the company? It had to be that she would take any sort of peace from Pearl she could get.

The sun having just set, the warp pad glowed. From the beam of light that comes crashing down, Steven and Garnet appear, the latter bubbling a corrupt gem and sending it to the temple.

"Pearl!" Steven ran forward excitedly to the pristine gem, who had a broom in hand from sweeping the floor. "I have so much to tell you! Garnet and I went on an awesome adventure! First we went through a temple that was kinda boring because there were no traps, but then when we came out of the temple there was a **_huge_ ** forest that had a giant bee thing and-"

"Steven, shh.." Pearl put a firm, but gentle hand over the excited boy's mouth, propping the broom up against the wall as she did so. "Amethyst is asleep.."

But she wasn't. The purple gem spent the whole day listening to Pearl's work, but she didn't want the other gems, especially Pearl herself, to know that. Garnet probably already knew the situation, but would let the two work it out themselves. The tallest of the gems stood there as she usually does, quietly observing the actions occurring. She only put a finger to her lips when Steven took a backwards glance at her. He gave a thumbs up, turned to Pearl, pretended to zip his lips, threw away the key, and hurried to the bathroom to get ready for the night as quietly as possible.

"So.." Pearl whispered, walking closer to Garnet as Steven attempted to close the door without the squeaking of the hinges. "How was the mission?"

"It was successful." Garnet replied, her stoic voice being quiet enough to not require the need for a whisper. She gestured with her head to the supposedly sleeping Amethyst. "I'm surprised that Amethyst is not in her room."

"Yes.. I'm surprised as well.." Pearl's gazed shifted downward, averting her eyes from Garnet's.. if she was even looking at Pearl through her visor.

"You seem more than surprised."

As usual, Garnet was on the mark. Pearl took a deep breath. Although she didn't need to, it helped prepare her for things that she was otherwise worried or scared to do. Her next words nearly made Amethyst jump from the couch in her own sheer surprise.

"Do you think.. Does Amethyst.. Does she hate me?"


	3. Closure

What?

How.. how could Pearl possibly think that Amethyst hates her? Wasn't it the other way around? Amethyst found it quite difficult to keep quiet as the scene behind her played out.

"Well.. does she..?" Pearl asked again, bring a hand up to grab at her other arm in anticipation. Why was Garnet being so quiet? Was she using her future vision? Or was she keeping the actual answer from Pearl because the tallest gem knew that Amethyst hated her? After what seemed like hours, at least to Pearl, Garnet finally lifted her head to speak.

"No, Amethyst does not hate you. Do you feel better?" It was so nonchalant. Of course, it always was with Garnet. Pearl sighed, a small smile playing across her lips.

"No.. not really."

"Of course not." Garnet quickly said, placing her hands on each of the pristine gem's shoulders. "I'm not Amethyst. If you want recognition, you get it from her, not me."

At this moment, Steven exited the bathroom in his banana pajamas. Seeing Garnet with her hands against Pearl's shoulders, ideas rapidly began to run through his head. He ran forward excitedly with stars in his eyes his arms raised, but before he could utter a single word, Garnet turned and held a finger to her lips, shushing the excited boy. "No, we're not fusing. Remember, Amethyst is asleep. You should be doing the same, if you're ready."

Steven nodded in understanding while lowering his arms, though it was clear that he was slightly disappointed and eager to speak his mind. Garnet and Pearl knelt down in front of Steven, the tallest gem ruffling his hair, a smile on her face.

"I promise we can talk all you want tomorrow." He smiled at this. In turn, he hugged Garnet then Pearl, whispering a 'goodnight' to each as he did so. Pulling away, he once again zipped his lips and tossed away the invisible key. After a salute, he slowly tiptoed his way up to his bed, Garnet and Amethyst watching him the whole way.

When he had finally gotten to his bed, Garnet turned to Pearl, once again resting a hand on her shoulder. "Just talk about it with her." Without another word, the stoic gem turned on her heel and walked through her temple door. Pearl, once again with her hand clasped over her opposite arm, shot a sideways glance toward the supposedly sleeping gem. She contemplated waking Amethyst up, but she couldn't risk incurring her rage. Instead, letting out another sigh, she made her way through her own temple door. Perhaps actually sleeping will help ease her mind.

Amethyst couldn't believe her ears. Could it really be that easy? Amethyst had tears in her eyes, a smile on her face as she stared at the back of the couch. All she had to do was wait until Pearl came to talk to her tomorrow.. Then everything would be okay between them again. Hugging herself with an excited shiver, she slowly fell into a real sleep.

* * *

The next morning was a quiet one, save for a certain boy who was claiming what he was promised the previous night. Amethyst was awake and sitting on her spot at the kitchen counter, Garnet standing beside her as Steven excitedly told the purple gem about his mission.

"- and then the giant bee zoomed down at me and Garnet! I used my shield but its stinger thingy was so strong that it broke through! Can you believe that! Then Garnet punched through my shield with her awesome gauntlets and poofed the thing, just like that! Since we finished early, I kinda wanted to explore through the jungle a bit. It took some time to convince Garnet though, but I did, huh Garnet?" Steven asked for confirmation, turning to his tallest acting mother, who smiled and nodded in response.

"You sure did, Steven."

"Aw, man, that sounds awesome!" Amethyst raised her hands in excitement, earning an approved nod from Steven.

"It was! We saw a bunch of different types of trees, climbed a small mountain, and went swimming under a waterfall!"

"Well I'm glad you had a fun time." Pearl walked through her temple door, her posture as elegant as ever. She heard the last few bits of Steven's story, and was glad to be able to put her word in. She walked up to the young boy to stand beside Garnet, hands on her hips while he turns to her in excitement. "But you made sure to dry yourself off thoroughly after your swim, right? I don't want you catching a cold."

"Of course! But Pearl, I have so much to tell you! Okay, there was this giant bee thing, right? And - Garnet, watcha doing?"

The tallest member of the team had grabbed Steven by the waist and lifted him, walking toward the door of the house.

"Amethyst can fill her in. I've got another special mission for the two of us." The boy gasped, stars in his eyes as he looked backwards up at Garnet.

"Really? What is it?!"

"It's an adventure to a modern jungle called Beach City Funland."

"Woo!" Steven's arms raised in the air were the last that Pearl and Amethyst saw of the boy, at least for a few hours. Amethyst was laughing while Pearl smiled, glad that Garnet took the opportunity to leave her alone with the purple gem.

"So.." Amethyst started, turning her attention to Pearl, still chuckling. "This giant bee that Steven's going on about attacked them, and even punctured through the little man's shield! Anyway, Garnet-"

"Actually, Amethyst.." Pearl cut the smaller gem off, raising her hand once again to clasp at her arm.

Amethyst's smile faded, knowing what was coming. Believe it or not, she was actually nervous. After what seemed like many minutes of silence, Pearl looked toward the front door again.

"I-I'd better go make sure they have the proper amount of money for their games." The pristine gem made her way to the door, but was stopped by Amethyst's hand. Holding onto her arm, Amethyst spoke, slowly, with a shy voice.

"Pearl.. I don't hate you."

"What?" Pearl asked, turning back to look at Amethyst. She didn't move. She didn't even try to free herself from the smaller gem's grasp. She was dumbfounded.

"I said.."

Amethyst paused, taking a deep breath. "I don't hate you.."

"How did.. How do you know-"

"I heard you and Garnet talking last night, okay?" Amethyst let go of Pearl and crossed her arms, averting her eyes with a small, hot pink blush on her face.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Pearl was hurt, even a little bit mad that Amethyst just let this go on if she knew. She started ranting, her voice getting slightly louder with each word. "I actually tried to sleep last night, you know? I-I mean I tried, but I just couldn't! Do you know how horrible that feels, when you're trying to rid yourself of your mind so that you can get to the next day easily, so that _**I**_ could get this over with faster?! I was worrying all night, I was practically ragged with fear, so why didn't you-"

"Because I thought the same thing, okay!?"

It was Pearl's turn to be cut off by Amethyst. The smaller gem had to scream to make herself heard over Pearl, and when she did, her fists were swung down in exasperation. Tears threatened to fall once more, but not because of sadness and worry, nor were they because of happiness. They were tears of pure relief, relief just to get this off her chest. Pearl, taken aback by amethyst's confession, spoke rather hesitantly.

"Why.. would you think such a thing?"

Her arms back to being crossed, again averting her gaze from Pearl, Amethyst began her explanation.

"Honestly, it's just been a feeling.. Like, yeah you get onto me for being messy, or rude, or a bunch of other stuff, but those I can take. But there are other times.." She took a glance at the taller gem before she continued speaking. "Times where your eyes are more angry than normal. Times where you think of new names to call me other than 'slob' or 'a mess.' I heard when you called me a 'little devil'.." At this, Pear's teal blush came across her face, and she grabbed her arm once again. "It's just been growing, each and every day, P. And it makes me feel like everything at the Kindergarten, what you said to make me feel like I actually meant something to the team, it makes me feel like that never even happened.."

Amethyst finished her little speech, averting her eyes once again. She waited.. waited for Pearl to say something, anything that would possibly put her mind at ease. But those words never came. Instead, Amethyst was surprised to feel a pair of slender arms wrap around her body. Her tears finally started to fall as she clasped onto her friend, resting her head on Pearl's shoulder. After just a few minutes, the pristine gem allowing her friend to let out her emotions, she whispered just two words in Amethyst's ear.

"I'm sorry.."


	4. Wonder Once More

The two gems sat there for a long time. So long that they were still holding onto each other when the sun passed over the house. It was as if the concept of time was meaningless to them. When they finally separated, Pearl wiping her own tears that accumulated during their hug and Amethyst wiping hers, the taller gem smiled.

"So.. tell me about Garnet and Steven's mission.." Amethyst smiled as well, though hers was larger, more childish even. She excitedly stood on top of the counter she was on.

"Okay, so they just got out of the temple, right, then there's this giant bee.."

Garnet and Steven walked through the door of the house to find the other two gems laughing together on the couch. Garnet smiled, and Steven, being oblivious to the situation, ran up to Pearl and Amethyst.

"Guys, I had so much fun at Funland! Well, that's the name of the place, so it's to be expected, but still! Garnet even used the test your might thingy where you use a hammer to try and hit the bell. She sent it flying and that got us kicked out, but it was so awesome!" The boy said all of this excitedly, glad to finally be able to talk to his other two acting mothers.

"Hey there, Shrimp." Amethyst greeted, raising a hand in the air. She had one foot up on the couch, her arm resting on her knee as her other foot swung on the side of the couch.

"I'm glad you had so much fun, Steven." Pearl was sat professionally, her legs held together with both hands resting in her lap. "But I'm sure Garnet knows how to control her strength.. right Garnet?" She asked, looking up at the stoic gem.

"Nope. I broke it." Amethyst snorted in laughter while Pearl laughed nervously, wondering how much the damages were going to cost..

Going through two straight days of adventuring and 'adventuring', Steven was obviously physically drained. Pearl could tell because he was breathing rather heavily, and bouncing from one foot to the other. He couldn't possibly..

"Steven, take off your sandals and show me your feet."

"My feet..? Why do you wanna see my feet?"

"Do they hurt?" Garnet asked from behind Steven, who turned around.

"A little.. but I'm sure they're fine." Pearl wasn't going to have any of it though. She got down from the couch, kneeling to Steven's level of height.

"Steven.." She started, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder to turn him back around. "You don't know because you can't see the bottoms of your feet. Please take off your sandals."

Steven nodded and reluctantly, very reluctantly, sat down and slipped off his right sandal with a wince.

"Oh dear.." Garnet stayed quiet as usual while Amethyst let out a low whistle. Steven's foot was covered over the bottom with blisters, ranging in degree from one to Holy Hell. Pearl gingerly took Steven's other foot in her hand, slipping off the sandal so as not to disturb the blisters. "Garnet." Pearl said over her shoulder to the tallest gem. "How did Steven even get like this? What about your future vision?"

"Kid's a runner." Garnet said with a shrug, earning another snort of laughter from Amethyst.

"Chill, Pearl. it's not like we have to cut his feet off." Amethyst said with a wave of her hand. Steven reflexively clutched at his feet while Pearl shot the shorter gem a dirty look.. the all too familiar look that made Amethyst question whether Pearl hated her or not in the first place. Amethyst instantly slouched back into the couch, her smile turning into a frown. She averted her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Sorry.." Was all she said afterward. Pearl sighed, picking Steven up at his waist.

"It's alright Amethyst.. I'm going to treat Steven's feet in the bathroom. And you are _**not**_ to stand and walk around for at least three days, young man." Pearl directed her attention to Steven who let out a whine of 'Come on!' as he was carried to the bathroom.

Garnet crossed her arms, turning her attention toward Amethyst.

"So.. how'd it go?"

"It went great.." Amethyst admitted, a small smile forming. "She came up to me and was about to say something but chickened out. If I didn't over hear you guys last night, nothing would have gotten done. But you already know that, I bet." Amethyst looked up at Garnet, who nodded in response.

"You breathe when you sleep. You hardly do when you're awake."

"Right.. well I told her I didn't hate her.. admitted to being awake last night. She got kinda pissed, but other than tha-"

"Language."

"Come on, Steven's in the other room!" Amethyst protested, gesturing to the bathroom, but Garnet shook her head. The purple gem crossed her arms again, giving up. "She got kinda _**mad**_ , but other than that, things went pretty well."

"It went well for you, or for Pearl?" That question sent Amethyst's thoughts spinning. She was positive that Pearl and herself were cool, but then that look came up again..

"I don't know.." Amethyst admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "She said she was sorry.. And I did too. But she just.. there's this one look she gives me that just makes me feel like garbage, like she doesn't think anything of me! I mean, I know it's not true, I do, it's just.. it always feels like it's meant to hurt me, you know?"

"I don't think so.." Garnet sad beside Amethyst, putting a hand on the purple gem's shoulder. "You're a valuable member of this team. You're her teammate, her friend. I'm positive she doesn't feel wrongly toward you."

"I know, I know.. it just feels like she does.."

"Well maybe you should talk to her about it, like she did with you.." The smaller gem chuckled, looking up at Garnet in the seat beside her.

"It's just an endless cycle of talking things over, isn't it..?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Hey guys, I think I'm gonna end this little story here. I'm definitely going to make a sequel to this, and it may have a higher rating. I'm not gonna do anything too severe, like nothing sexual or anything, but I feel like if I change the genre of this particular story from 'friendship' to 'romance' in later chapters, then that would ruin the whole point of this story I've made. That won't be my only reason for raising the rating, as I might add some 'advanced' language, so to speak. It's still just a maybe, so it could just as easily stay at a K+ rating. I'm thinking of naming the sequel to this "She Doesn't Hate Me!", so be on the lookout for it. I also want to thank you all so much for sticking with me and giving my first fanfiction such support. I've found that I absolutely love writing, and am excited to continue the second part of this story. You guys are amazing. So long for now.**


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